Eagle at Dawn

[Wookie]

Hello everybody... I thought maybe I'd introduce myself with this image. I'm active duty USAF currently deployed so I don't have much of a variety of subjects... This pic is as taken cept for resizing...

For those of you who don't know, that's an F-15E Strike Eagle.

This photo was taken at dawn only yesterday... I'm just learning and really love the way the colors and contrast work. I'd be happy to hear your comments/suggestions.

Regards... W

[daylebo5]

hey wookie ..welcome 2 dps... dont worry about the variety of subject... i think the subjects u have are awesome... u should get some great shots...

regarding this shot.. i think its well composed.. however .. there is a bright light near the tail section.. that's kinda distracting.. maybe u could retake the pic and try to hide the light behind the tail.. good shot overall thou..

[porterd2nz]

I've always liked the line of the F15's. It's one plane that the designers got right, IMHO.

As to the shot, it looks good. As daylebo5 said, I'd try and get rid of the light if possible, and maybe crop out some of the dark area at the bottom of the image.

[Wookie]

Hi there.. thanks for the welcome and the feedback... Please don't consider my comments negative as I appreciate everybody's view, I'd just like to explain my thoughts on this selection...

I was concerned about the statium light between the tails, and yes, I agree it does seem a bit distracting, but the more I looked at it, I thought that it seemed to fit. Being a flightline. About the black forground... I actually did that purposefully... I thought that it made the aircraft come out from the frame, if that makes sense. I have another that has the orange foreground. Hmmm... maybe I'll try another tonight without the light.

Thanks again and please keep the feedback coming. I have a ton of these, different angles, views.

Regards...

W

[porterd2nz]

I'll elaborate on my comments and try and explain why I'd do the things I suggested.

1) The light between the tail fins needs to go for two reasons:
-- It's an alien, i.e. it intersects the main subject of the image and thereby attaches itself to it.
-- The light is brighter than the main subject of the image and thereby draws the eye of the viewer away to it. There's also a bit of lens flare that could be avoided if the light was hidden behind the tail.

2) Cropping the bottom: Every image, whether it is a photograph or a painting, has two parts: a positive space & a negative space. Positive space is simply the subject of the image, and the negative is everything else. To state it as simply as possible, these spaces need to be balanced.

As your image was posted, the positive space is the F15 and the lighted area around it. IMO, it is heavy on the negative space, and cropping the top or bottom would bring it back into balance. I suggested cropping the bottom simply because that was my preference as it lightens up the image. Cropping the top would work as well, but anchors the F15 to the ground and changes the mood by keeping the black section.

You can easily play with cropping the top or bottom by scrolling this page to obscure the top or bottom of the image.

Don't get me wrong, I like the photo. It is a good shot. The composition is basically sound. There are good lines coming in from the left and right leading to the aircraft, and there is good separation between the aircraft and the converging walls, especially between the tail-plane and the right wall which are almost identical in colour. But there are a lot of good shots out there, and we all want to take GREAT shots, no?

[hpebley3]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Hello everybody... I thought maybe I'd introduce myself with this image. I'm active duty USAF currently deployed

Thanks so much for your service. I have three brothers in the Army and know second-hand the sacrifices you and your family are making on the behalf of many people.

Originally Posted by Wookie

so I don't have much of a variety of subjects...

Hmm, seems to me that plane alone has dozens of possibilities as it sits. :-)

Originally Posted by Wookie

This photo was taken at dawn only yesterday... I'm just learning and really love the way the colors and contrast work. I'd be happy to hear your comments/suggestions.

The sky is awesome and overall the composition is strong. I agree with the others that the flood light is distracting and the crop could be a little tighter. Additionally, the color balance seems to be off; it has quite a bit of yellow in it.

Hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of demonstrating the changes:

If it's a problem, let me know and I'll take it down.

Cheers.

[peeperita]

this would make a great shot for the newest assignment here...."breaking the rules".....

thanks....for everything.....

peeper

[Joeri?!]

i agree too, that the light distracts the viewer from the subject.
but looking at the edit from hpebley3 , nicely done though, i think the light do needs to be in the picture, since i dont feel the same effect on the original and the edit, the light does add something.

[Wookie]

Hi... Thanks everybody for your comments... I'm currently at work and cannot view images from zoomr or flickr, but I am anxious to see the changes.

I was going to try to recompose the shot this morning, but lost my 'window'. Maybe tomorrow...

Hmmm... Perhaps I will post in the assignment... Thanks for the suggestion... Lemme crop some of the dead space out and I'll post... Thanks.

Regards...

W

[daylebo5]

yup i too agree with Joeri.. i think the light adds something to the picture.... the edited pic looks a little dull ... so i guess i was wrong about the light..

Wookie just another tip ... incase you are retaking the pic... try and get some thing in front of the plane... something on the deck... maybe you could get some of the deck guys (sorry i dont know exactly what they are called)..
it would add something more to the pic... and i think it would look awesome...